Median home prices in the Baltimore region continue to climb despite the highest mortgage rates in more than two decades, according to a new report from the real estate firm Bright MLS. The median home sales price in the Baltimore metropolitan region — meaning Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties, plus Baltimore City — hit $385,000 in August, 4.6% higher than a year prior.

With the school year underway, are you tired of sitting in worse traffic? Of course you are. The Maryland Transit Administration wants you to take transit instead. In honor of World Car Free Day on Sept. 22, the MTA won’t charge for rides on local and commuter buses, Metro SubwayLink, light rail, MARC trains and MobilityLink van service that entire weekend, the agency said in a press release Thursday afternoon.

Maryland has an abundance of unissued sports wagering licenses that one state delegate says should not be allowed to gather dust. Currently, there are 12 physical sports book locations. The state also has a dozen mobile sports wagering apps in operation. State regulators say instability in the market and ongoing consolidation mean no more are needed yet.

As of June, the Housing Authority of Baltimore City owed more than $7 million in water bills to the city, according to a report released Tuesday by the city’s Office of the Inspector General. The inspector general’s investigation began last October, when the office received an anonymous complaint alleging that the HABC had stopped paying its water bills in 2018, and owed the city’s Department of Public Works millions of dollars.

September is National Suicide Awareness Month. Since my mom, an Air Force veteran and the only parent who was present in my life, died by suicide in March 2018, I’ve spent the past five years wondering what more I could have done, thinking about the clues that were missed and the opportunities lost. I’m still learning to accept that there are questions that will never be answered.

Americans older than six months should get an updated COVID-19 booster this fall, according to a recommendation the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued Tuesday. The vaccine should be available by later this week, the CDC said in a statement. “We have more tools than ever to prevent the worst outcomes from COVID-19,” said Director Mandy Cohen.

It is further proof that time does pass quickly when you are having fun: Last weekend was the 40th renewal of the annual In the Streets celebration downtown. Since 1983, the festival has been drawing large crowds of people to enjoy the sights and sounds, the arts and the history, and the food and the fun that is downtown Frederick.

 

Over the past month, forecasters have painted a bleak picture for Maryland state revenues. Federal support for state budgets during the COVID crisis is gone, and local economic growth is not sufficient to make up the difference. We are encouraged that Gov. Wes Moore has viewed these fiscal challenges as a call to “build a dynamic economy” that can support the state’s ambitions.

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-5th) enjoys his annual bull roast in Prince George’s County because he gets to hug, shake hands and nibble on hot food alongside fellow Democrats and other friends. The event celebrates various accomplishments made during the year and coincides with his birthday in June, but was postponed due the poor air quality from the Canadian wildfires. It resumed Friday as orange, red and white balloons were stationed at various places at Newton White Mansion as hundreds came to pay homage to Maryland’s longest-serving member of the House of Representatives.

 

Alfreda Stewart’s youngest daughter was grazed by a bullet during the Brooklyn Homes mass shooting July 2. Her daughter’s friend was shot in her shoulder and thigh. She learned the news in a “horrific” phone call from her oldest daughter, she told the mayor, acting police commissioner and a host of city officials at a Thursday night community meeting.